The UP Engineering R & D Foundation, Inc., in partnership with the UP College of Engineering and the UP Alumni Engineers, held the second installment of the High Impact R&D through High Performance Computing Webinar Series on October 10.
After a rousing welcome by the host, UPERDFI VP Dante Briones, UPCOE Dean Ferdinand Manegdeg opened the webinar, followed by the presentation of the HPC Facility Design by Associate Dean for Research and ME Professor Dr. Happy Denoga. UPERDFI Trustee Vic Villagracia (from his San Francisco USA home) introduced and thanked the new HPC Donors – Friends of UP Foundation of America (FUPFA), represented by Vice Chair Polly Cortez (an individual donor herself, and beaming from Concord, California); our Member Denis Carpio (from Virginia USA but could not join); Al David (joining from Fremont, California); SEAOIL Philippines ℅ Director Manuel Frondoso (UPERDFI Adviser); and our member Dr. Salvador F. Reyes.
The highlight of the webinar were the three presentations on current researches that would benefit much from having an HPC Facility. GE Professor and UPNEC Deputy Executive Director Dr. Ariel C. Blanco presented HPC for Geospatial Information and Decisions. Dr. Vena Pearl A. Bongolan, Associate Professor of Computer Science showcased some projects conducted by DCS faculty members. Then Engr. Peter Antonio B. Banzon, R&D Chief and Acting OIC of DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute, shared the operations of their HPC. Aside from being the control center of the Philippine MicroSatellites, DOST-ASTI runs the COARE Project that provides HPC and Scientific Cloud computing services open to UP and other universities and Research Institutes in the country. The Q&A was facilitated by CorSec Chicho Mantaring.
UPERDFI ED Tito Aliga introduced the new professorial chair donors: Engr. Elzar Simon (speaking from California); Dr. Aura Matias; Engr. Ronaldo Ison; and the Philippine Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (PSSMGE), represented by its President, CE Professor Dr. Alexis Philip Acacio. They shared inspiring messages on why they chose to give back to UPCOE.
UPERDFI President Ferdz de la Cruz closed the webinar by celebrating the milestone of achieving almost PhP 10 Million, halfway through our fundraising goal of PhP 20 Million by December 2020, and thanking everyone for their contribution to the cause.
Shortly after the event, EE ’69 alumnus Pepe Santiago of Trident Electronics asked the HPC Team for key details which he will share with his network of potential donors.
For those who missed it, you may watch the recording of the webinar below:
